There are many features in the everyday world that we walk straight past without a second glance. Walls are one of those items that it is so easy to ignore. A wall is a wall – it divides, it supports, it protects. Walls are utilitarian. Not always. Sometimes they are more than that.

Take this bit of wall that I found at Kenilworth Castle. A place that is definitely worth a visit. The walls are of Cotswold stone – a mellow stone. This was the back wall of the café situated in one of the outbuildings in the castle grounds, built no doubt some long time ago. My eyes picked out this little detail. Much of the wall was laid in courses, as walls usually are, but not this small fragment. A bit of artistic licence by the Stone Mason? Maybe there was a debate: ‘what shall we do with this odd-shaped bit of stone’? Whatever the reason, it adds interest, it’s a feature. So easily missed.

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About LensScaper

Hi - I'm a UK-based photographer who started out 45+ years ago as a lover of landscapes, inspired by my love of outdoor pursuits: skiing, walking and climbing. Now retired, I seldom leave home without a camera and I find images in unexpected places and from different genres. I work on the premise that Photography is Art and that creativity is dependent on the cultivation of 'A Seeing Eye'. I'm not averse to manipulating images to produce derivatives that may sometimes be far removed from the original.

18 Responses to Face the Wall

They have just recently opened an observation platform high up in one of the main towers. I haven’t been up there to see the change but it has been on TV and if you belong to English Heritage you may know about that.

That’s an interesting observation, Scott. Undoubtedly having a camera in hand has a direct effect on my awareness. But also what I am increasingly noticing is that my awareness is permanently heightened whether or not I am carrying a camera. ‘Seeing’ is becoming a constant state of mind

One of the things I loved about the Flint Hills of Kansas, and love about the Texas Hill Country is the abundance of rock buildings and fences. I have a few photos from Kansas I ought to do something with.

All of the work in both states is interesting, particularly since most of it didn’t use mortar, but depending on close-fitting of the stones. One little tidbit I came across puts Kenilworth in a different light:

“Roy Bedichek, in his 1947 book “Adventures with a Texas Naturalist,” estimated the stone fences on his place in Hays County weighed “not less than a ton per linear yard.” The rule of thumb passed down to the present is that it took one man one day to build three feet of fence three feet high. That three-feet-a-day pace involved not only the relatively mindless toil of finding, digging up, lifting and hauling suitable rocks but the more cerebral activity of sorting and stacking them just so.”

We sometimes like to think that Dry Stone Walling is a UK phenomenon, but clearly it isn’t – the type of rock employed varies from country to country but in all cases it’s a three dimensional jigsaw of working out how each piece of stone can be used to lock the wall solidly in place. Whether there was mortar of some sort employed here, or not, is something I’m not entirely sure about but one has to admire the skill in knitting those pieces together.

Thank Adrian. It can be difficult to tune your eye to switch from the wide expanses of landscape to the small fragments. The change is more easily made if you have reason to wander round more constrained places like towns and cities where the long view doesn’t exist – but that requires a lot of leg work. Carrying a camera in hand is another way: the physical act of ‘camera in hand’ seems to send signals to the brain: ‘look for a picture’

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